President of Belarus to expand military cooperation with China

Belarus intends to expand cooperation with China in the military and military-technical spheres. Belarussian president Alexander Lukashenko said this when he met with member of the Chinese central military council, chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army of China Fu Cuan.

The head of the Belarussian state stressed that the military and military-technical spheres of cooperation are on a "sufficiently high level." Speaking about Belarussian-Chinese relations, Alexander Lukashenko pointed out that the two countries have identical views concerning any issues, including international cooperation.

He also noted that the Belarussian and Chinese stances on the anti-terror operation in Afghanistan fully coincide.

According to the Belarussian president, he is ready "for serious negotiations" and discussion of any questions of interest for the Chinese side.

The military-technical and military cooperation between Belarus and China began in 1995 when an inter-governmental agreement on cooperation in the military-technical sphere was signed. The agreement stipulated the creation of the coordination committee on cooperation in the field of armaments and military hardware. The press service of the head of the Belarussian state reports that six sessions of the above-mentioned committee have already been conducted, and the seventh one has been scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year.

Agreement on the organisation of the capital repairs of the Su-27 planes of the Chinese National Liberation Army's airforce at the repair plants of Belarus, and the delivery of spare parts, equipment and documents necessary for their repairs in China is being realised.

In addition, the contract for the study of regular groups of Chinese servicemen at the Belarussian Military Academy will be realised in 2002-2005. The cost of the contract is about 500,000 US dollars, the press service reports.